Food Allergy Blood Tests and results

[Jenn]

<snip> I am of the opinion that if we can fix this exposure, we will not be reacting to these foods.

Interestingly, only four out of the eighteen that took the test showed evidence of candida.

I agree with you that a lot needs to be done on eliminating the effects of blue light exposure and EMF for optimising our health.

Well, interestingly, the ones who have the LEAST reactions seem to be among those that have the most "blue light/EM" exposure. And a few of those who are kind of OCD about eliminating EMF from their personal space for large segments of time, have the MOST sensitivities. But that's not true across the board, of course, just a statistically significant tendency.

I also noticed that among those with the highest number of sensitivities, there is a lot of musical/artistic creativity. But again, that's just statistically significant and not true across the board since one of the most creative has one of the lowest profiles.

Regarding patterns and connecting up the dots, are there any emotional patterns between the people that had the most reactions?

 

[Gaby]

This image should give an idea of what this test covers (look for IgG):

Ok, so that may explain why I can get high blood pressure and headaches with coffee and wine, yet the test didn't show them as a problem. Because coffee and wine apparently create an accute response with IgE antibodies, while this test detects IgG antibodies. Correct?

That could be one reason, yes. We have to keep in mind that there are other immune reactions that we know little or nothing about. The literature describes the classic ones summarized in the chart above and then some books even admit that there might be more to it than just that.

If someone's test came back negative for wheat, that doesn't mean that its lectins are not damaging. In fact, that is what happens, the lectins creates damage and inflammation even in the absence of IgA, IgE, IgG antibodies (or any antibodies for that matter):

Opening Pandora's Bread Box: The Critical Role of Wheat Lectin in Human Disease
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/page/opening-pandoras-bread-box-critical-role-wheat-lectin-human-disease

I think this test is very useful in that it shows how someone can be reacting to green beans and beef [ ], classically considered "superfoods" and tolerated by just about everybody!

Darn! My tip of, "in case of doubt, stick to green beans and beef" goes down the tubes.

 

[Mrs.Tigersoap]

I find such allergy/intolerance tests very disconcerting and sometimes misleading.

I've had a whole bunch as a child/young teen because I was constantly sneezing, eyes watering, skin itching. According to the tests, the biggest culprit was house dust mites (acarians). I was also allergic to other substances and to some foods (I've forgotten which). My bedding was changed every day, the mattress and carpet thoroughly vacuumed every day, etc.
It was only years after that I discovered that the main culprit was in fact dairy. Suppressing dairy changed everything. And not a single test showed that, interestingly.

One of my colleagues has a diet of mainly 'glutenful' food and dairy. He eats them at every meal. Lots of sweets, lots of coffee. He also eats 1 liter of ice cream a day (I'm not even kidding). His allergies are through the roof (basically the same ones I listed) and leave him very incapacitated quite often. His allergy/intolerance tests showed that his biggest allergy was to...beech pollen. Not a word about dairy, gluten or anything of that kind. He has these allergies year round and beech pollen is supposed to be from March to June, so I'm not sure how that works...

I also noticed allergies being stronger when going through emotionally difficult periods.

 

[Gaby]

I find such allergy/intolerance tests very disconcerting and sometimes misleading.

I've had a whole bunch as a child/young teen because I was constantly sneezing, eyes watering, skin itching. According to the tests, the biggest culprit was house dust mites (acarians). I was also allergic to other substances and to some foods (I've forgotten which). My bedding was changed every day, the mattress and carpet thoroughly vacuumed every day, etc.
It was only years after that I discovered that the main culprit was in fact dairy. Suppressing dairy changed everything. And not a single test showed that, interestingly.

I think that in this case, you were tested for IgE antibodies. Labs in mainstream medicine don't have the kits for these tests.

These tests fall more into the "functional medicine" field which is relatively new. Here is more info about the tests:

IgG Food Allergy Testing by ELISA/EIA. What do they really tell us?
_http://www.betterhealthusa.com/public/282.cfm

IgG Food allergy test + candida
_http://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/igg-food-allergy-test/

 

[Ellipse]

What is the accuracy of this test? If one do it again (without giving the same name to the lab), would one have the same results?

 

[Joe]

These tests fall more into the "functional medicine" field which is relatively new. Here is more info about the tests:

IgG Food Allergy Testing by ELISA/EIA. What do they really tell us?
_http://www.betterhealthusa.com/public/282.cfm

It does seem like this is only a partial test, and it's possible there are some false positives there. From the above article:

What is Really Being Measured in the ELISA/EIA?

In addition to the lack of documented correlation between IgG and food allergy, it is uncertain if numerous companies doing this assay are even measuring what they think they are. Upon interviewing the companies that we send our patient samples to, we learned that all of these companies do their own "in-house ELISA/EIA." What that means is they designed their own EIA/ELISA tests from scratch. The questions that arise concerning "in-house" ELISAs is how and where the companies obtained the food antigens that coat the 96 well ELISA plates. In other words, what are the circulating antibodies in patient sera binding to? One of the labs that we evaluated claimed "proprietary information" as to the manufacture of their antigens but the other two labs both bought the food antigens for their ELISA panels from a company in Oklahoma. Interviewing the chief technologist from this Oklahoma company gave some surprising insights into their food antigen preparation. The foods to make the antigens were obtained from a local Oklahoma market (they "tried to buy organic foods whenever they could").

The foods were then chopped finely and diluted to make the antigens. Other than several rinses with an organic solvent (acetone), the food antigens were not purified. The problems that may be associated with this preparation are enormous. For one, all food (organic and non-organic) is coated with microorganisms. The most common of these include bacteria and fungi but viruses and parasites may also be found on fruits, vegetables, grains, milk and meat products. Microorganisms have many antigens that are highly immunogenic. It is common knowledge that most people have high circulating levels of IgG to a number of common microorganisms. To this likely wealth of microorganisms in the testing wells, there is the presence of possible pesticides and organic solvents that are not (according to the technologist interviewed) rinsed away during preparation.

Therefore, what is really being measured in these panels? Is it an immune reaction to certain foods or is it a person's exposure to common bacteria and fungi? What about a person's previous exposure to pesticides and organic solvents? Numerous studies have shown high levels of IgG to pesticides and organic solvents in persons with high exposure rates. It is possible that there are many antigens in each well, If that is true, then one would see a high number of non-specific antigen/antibody interactions, giving a high number of false positives in these tests. Are there a high amount of nonspecific binding and false positives occurring in these tests? There is no way to test this easily, at the present time. However, what was seen in our small study correlates with this hypothesis. The patient whose blood was drawn for our reproducibility studies is in very good health with no current signs and symptoms of food allergy. This person, however, tested reactive in 76% of Lab A's test (73 positive/96 foods), in 29% (28 positive/95 foods) of Lab B's test, and reactive in 22% (22 positive/102 foods) of Lab C's test.

My list of to avoids in descending order:

3

Chicken egg
Egg white
Fermented milk cheese
Cow's milk

2

Egg yolk
Quail egg
Goose egg
Kefir (fermented milk)

1

Brazil nut
Ricotta cheese
Cooked milk
Camel milk
Agar-agar E 406
Halloumi

 

[Jacques]

What is the accuracy of this test? If one do it again (without giving the same name to the lab), would one have the same results?

And what would be the results if it was done by another lab ?

 

[Vulcan59]

What about using hair allergy test? I did one in October last year. My hair sample was sent to a Swiss lab and the results shown below;

Scores are between 1 to 10. 1= low reaction and 10=strong reaction.

Pawpaw - 6

All Diary - 4
Detergent (chemical-based cleaning products) 4
Barley - 4
Sulphite 221, 223 - 4
Salicylate - 4
Mixed Grasses - 4
Mango - 4

Mushroom - 3
Pecan - 3
Sesame - 3
Streptococcus Bacteria - 3
Tartrazine 102 -3
Grass Pollen - 3

Orange - 2
Capsicum - 2
Chlorine - 2

Surprisingly gluten doesn't show up. Have been gluten and dairy free for a couple of years now and yet dairy did show up. Is the hair allergy test more accurate?

 

[Jenn]

What about using hair allergy test? I did one in October last year. My hair sample was sent to a Swiss lab and the results shown below;

Scores are between 1 to 10. 1= low reaction and 10=strong reaction.

Pawpaw - 6

All Diary - 4
Detergent (chemical-based cleaning products) 4
Barley - 4
Sulphite 221, 223 - 4
Salicylate - 4
Mixed Grasses - 4
Mango - 4

Mushroom - 3
Pecan - 3
Sesame - 3
Streptococcus Bacteria - 3
Tartrazine 102 -3
Grass Pollen - 3

Orange - 2
Capsicum - 2
Chlorine - 2

Surprisingly gluten doesn't show up. Have been gluten and dairy free for a couple of years now and yet dairy did show up. Is the hair allergy test more accurate?

Are you still eating ghee/butter or anything dairy related? When I went to the doctors recently and got tested for celiacs he said it wouldn't show up if I was eating a gluten free diet

 

[Chu]

So does that mean that with this IgG test, you haven't even touched the real bad immidiate allergies??? Or in other words, do you need the other test "real immidiate reactions" test too find out the the other bad ones?

What for? Unless you have a chronic and serious problem, and the culprit may be really hidden as in some chemical in your house or something you cannot determine, I don't see any point in testing for allergies (immediate reactions). You just KNOW! You eat gluten and get a rash shortly after? You go outside during the Spring and start sneezing from the pollen? You eat a strawberry and you mouth gets swollen? Etc. A person would have to have completely lost touch with their bodies not to be able to tell those apart. But maybe I misunderstood your questions?

 

[monotonic]

I pay close attention to how I feel after I eat and sadly there are few things I don't feel bad after eating. One thing that helps you become sensitive to it is to sit down and try to feel every part of your body. And if you feel depressed or angry or excited you can also concentrate on the feeling and see if it is actually a pain in your head or somewhere else in your body, as I have often found. I would realize I ate something or have been doing something unhealthy, and I would realize the way I was feeling was due to what I ate and Working on it would have to involve changing my physical circumstances.

 

[Vulcan59]

What about using hair allergy test? I did one in October last year. My hair sample was sent to a Swiss lab and the results shown below;

Scores are between 1 to 10. 1= low reaction and 10=strong reaction.
<<snipped>>

Surprisingly gluten doesn't show up. Have been gluten and dairy free for a couple of years now and yet dairy did show up. Is the hair allergy test more accurate?

Are you still eating ghee/butter or anything dairy related? When I went to the doctors recently and got tested for celiacs he said it wouldn't show up if I was eating a gluten free diet

Yes, mostly butter and so good chance that, that is the reason. :)

 

[Mike]

I've been going to a naturopathic doctor for my gall stones, but have had some other tests done. One is a Foodstats Antibody Assessment by US BioTek.

Here are my results, yet my list of stuff tested does not seem to be as comprehensive as the test in this thread:

5
Clam

4
Lemon
Baker's Yeast

3
Brewer's Yeast
Sugar Cane

2
Cranberry
Sesame Seed

1
Coffee Bean
Cocoa Bean
Blueberry
Crab
Lima bean
Coconut
Gluten, wheat
Oat
Sunflower Seed

edit added: Here is an example that shows all the foods tested for - http://www.usbiotek.com/Downloads/samples/sample_96f_iga_igg_ige.pdf

 

[Turgon]

I find such allergy/intolerance tests very disconcerting and sometimes misleading.

I've had a whole bunch as a child/young teen because I was constantly sneezing, eyes watering, skin itching. According to the tests, the biggest culprit was house dust mites (acarians). I was also allergic to other substances and to some foods (I've forgotten which). My bedding was changed every day, the mattress and carpet thoroughly vacuumed every day, etc.
It was only years after that I discovered that the main culprit was in fact dairy. Suppressing dairy changed everything. And not a single test showed that, interestingly.

I think that in this case, you were tested for IgE antibodies. Labs in mainstream medicine don't have the kits for these tests.

These tests fall more into the "functional medicine" field which is relatively new. Here is more info about the tests:

IgG Food Allergy Testing by ELISA/EIA. What do they really tell us?
_http://www.betterhealthusa.com/public/282.cfm

IgG Food allergy test + candida
_http://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/igg-food-allergy-test/

Gaby,

Have you heard of Oral Sensitivity Tests? I was listening to an old Underground Wellness podcast with Reed Davis, and he mentioned the IgE and IgG tests but said that the OS Test is more accurate when it comes to testing for food items that could be doing damage in the gut without any immediate signs or symptoms.

_http://undergroundwellness.com/podcasts/it-all-starts-in-the-gut-digestion-fungus-parasites-and-food-allergies/

He mentions it about 32 minutes into the podcast.

_http://www.healthcommunities.com/allergy-testing/oral-allergy-test.shtml

Oral Challenge Test, Oral Provocation Test

For oral food or drug allergy test, you ingest a food or drug in a capsule or in its natural form, and a physician observes you for the development of typical allergic symptoms. Food allergies can usually be detected using various dietary methods, in which the suspected food is excluded from the diet for a certain period of time and then reintroduced to see if symptoms appear. Oral food or drug allergy test is typically ordered only if the results from such dietary techniques—as well as from blood and skin allergy tests—are inconclusive or negative, but an allergy or intolerance is still suspected.

Purpose of the Oral Food or Drug Allergy Tests

To confirm a suspected allergy or intolerance to a particular food or food additive
To confirm a suspected allergy or intolerance to certain medications, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
To accurately diagnose bad reactions to foods

Before the Oral Food or Drug Allergy Test

Avoid all of the foods or drugs that are suspected of causing an allergic reaction for 1 to 2 weeks prior to testing, according to your doctor’s instructions.
Stop taking antihistamines or other drugs that might suppress your allergic response prior to the test, according to your doctor’s instructions.
You should only get the test on a day that you are not experiencing allergic symptoms. Fast before the test to ensure that no food/drink is in your system that could affect results

What You Experience

You will be asked to swallow liquid or solid foods or test capsules containing the suspected food or drug at specific time intervals.
You will then be observed for any evidence of an allergic reaction to the test substance. Possible responses include hives; itching; wheezing; swelling of the eyes, lips, face, or tongue; nasal irritation; or gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
To ensure objective results, the test may be performed twice. One of these times, you will ingest a placebo capsule containing a harmless substance, usually sugar. (A third party labels the capsules so that neither you nor your physician knows which of the test capsules is the placebo.)
Depending on the nature and the severity of the expected allergic reaction, you may be observed for a period ranging from few minutes to several hours.

 

[Gaby]

Gaby,

Have you heard of Oral Sensitivity Tests?

These sounds like what is done in allergy units. During my allergy rotation, this was done when there was strong suspicion of an allergy but all the blood tests and skin prick tests were negative. It was basically giving the culprit and do close monitoring of symptoms and signs and vital signs. A spirometry was done to monitor for subtle changes in breathing capacity which can happen even when you feel no symptoms.

I think it is a good option for immediate allergies when tests are negative. It also brings the issue of why the test is positive if the blood tests are negative?

I think that the immediate allergic reactions are facilitated by the delayed allergic reactions and inflammation in the body regardless of its cause. It is like your whole system is on fire. For example, like when a person gets extreme inflammation from a bug bite, even when there is no specific allergy for that specific bug. The person is just very inflamed in general.

In food intolerances that might take days to manifest, this oral test might not be relevant. Even if it is negative, we have to keep in mind that some delayed food intolerances compound silent diseases and/or other existing problems, i.e. high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.